WILL EAGLES MOVE TO TRADE FOR RENTAL RB LE’VEON BELL?

The Eagles have the flexibility. They have the aggressive general manager. They have the need. And perhaps most important, they have the draft ammunition.

And if they want, they can rent the services of Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell for the rest of this season.

A league source close to the Eagles confirmed one part of an ESPN report to Yahoo Sports on last night:

Philly has not been in pursuit of Bell up to this point in the season. However, the source said Bell is a viable option for the franchise in the wake of the season-ending ACL injury to starting running back Jay Ajayi. This despite ESPN also reporting that the Eagles have no plan “at this time” to pursue Bell.

That phrasing might be a semantics game the Eagles are playing to retain some leverage in any trade pursuit, since the Steelers appear to be sellers stuck in a weak market for Bell’s services.

Despite Bell being squarely on the trade block for two weeks and the league’s trade deadline looming on Oct. 30, nothing has materialized for Pittsburgh.

With that reality in mind, it’s highly unlikely the Eagles would place themselves into a negotiating disadvantage by admitting they are in the market for Bell. Especially given that it’s clear that the scheme fit, need, talent, cash and draft chips are all squarely in place for a potential deal: